Fracking debate coming to Ferndale

FERNDALE – The controversial practice of fracking to extract natural gas will be part of a town hall meeting on oil and gas drilling leases in Oakland County.

The meeting -- hosted by Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash, The Ferndale Sustainability Commission and County Commissioner Helaine Zack -- is set for 6 p.m. April, 23, at Ferndale City Hall, 300 E. Nine Mile Road.

“In the current rush to open up Oakland County lands for oil and gas exploration,” Nash said, “I want residents to know the facts and understand the issues and risks associated with drilling and fracking, especially around the need to protect the integrity of our precious water resources.”

The town hall is a continuation of public meetings Nash started last fall with former Ferndale Mayor Craig Covey when both men were county commissioners.

Covey, now a special assistant to Nash, said a similar town hall in West Bloomfield Township six weeks ago drew more than 150 people.

“We’re going to keep moving around to different communities and doing these meetings as long as folks are interested in hearing about this issue,” Covey said.

Nash and Covey unsuccessfully tried last year to get the county commission to declare a moratorium on fracking.

Fracking, which is a short term for hydraulic fracturing, is used to draw natural gas from shale rock formations. The process uses millions of gallons of fresh water mixed with sand, salts and chemicals under extreme pressure to loosen rock formations to release gas.

Traditional wells are drilled vertically. With fracking, a well is drilled down deep before the drill shaft is run horizontally for a long distances. Intense bursts of pressure from the horizontal line loosen rock.

Though oil and gas industry officials say the process is safe, opponents contend fracking destroys groundwater used in the process and can pollute reserves of remaining groundwater.

Fracking has been done in northern areas of the state for years, but no permits for it have been issued thus far in Oakland County.

The state last year alone auctioned off hundreds of thousands of acres for oil and gas lease rights. Nearly 20,000 acres of the state-owned land in Oakland County was part of just one state auction last year for drilling leases.

Drilling permits, including those using fracking, are issued by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality after they are reviewed by the agency.

An MDEQ official at the town hall meeting in West Bloomfield in February reportedly said Michigan has never had a groundwater contamination incident caused by fracking.

“My understanding is that we are going to see some permits issued in Oakland County sooner rather than later,” Commissioner Helaine Zack said. “We need to have an informed public. I think a big purpose of these town hall meetings is to educate people.”

Waterford Township officials voted last month to accept $74,000 for an oil lease contract with Jordan Development Co. of Traverse City to search for oil and gas on more than 600 acres of township land. The township in its contract, however, prohibited the company from using fracking. But it is unclear whether a community can legally ban fracking in cases where companies make contracts with private land owners.

Jordan Development has more than 425 gas and oil wells statewide.

The upcoming meeting in Ferndale will feature one speaker on each side of the fracking debate, Covey said.

“We’re expecting a large turn out with residents from Ferndale, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Huntington Woods, Royal Oak and other nearby communities,” he said.